WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.760 --> 00:00:09.640 Chapter four, Ryan present. He drums his fingers on the dashboard. Ryan 2 00:00:09.720 --> 00:00:14.080 knows it has been annoying his partner to no end, but Sam just stepped 3 00:00:14.080 --> 00:00:19.480 out to brave the torrential downpour, an odd weather system for January in DC. 4 00:00:20.600 --> 00:00:25.120 It should be snowing, but it's not cold enough. Instead, there 5 00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:30.160 are big fat drops of rain that beat down on the car loudly and unceasingly. 6 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:34.880 A crack of thunder shakes the official government vehicle in which he is sitting, 7 00:00:35.159 --> 00:00:40.439 and a flash of lightning lights up the sky. Just then Sam flings 8 00:00:40.439 --> 00:00:44.679 open the driver's side door and plops down in the seat, handing Ryan his 9 00:00:44.759 --> 00:00:51.560 coffee black one sugar Decalf. He used to take his coffee with three creamers 10 00:00:51.600 --> 00:00:56.679 and three sugars and as chalk full of caffeine as possible, but ever since 11 00:00:56.679 --> 00:01:02.159 the doctor prescribed him blood pressure medication told him to cut out caffeine altogether. 12 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:07.680 He has also the cream for the calories. It would be a cold day 13 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:11.640 in hell, though if he cut out the sugar. A man can only 14 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:17.319 take so much. Sam shakes his head like a dog and scoffs at his 15 00:01:17.439 --> 00:01:22.560 partner, dcalf, I don't know how you do it. What's the point 16 00:01:23.560 --> 00:01:26.280 If you close your eyes, it tastes the same. Ryan takes a sip. 17 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:33.239 It's cold. Sam ignores him. I hate the rain. Yeah, 18 00:01:33.359 --> 00:01:37.840 snow would be better. Yeah, for this ship, definitely, snow would 19 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:42.840 be better. Sam takes his plastic stir and drums it against the steering wheel. 20 00:01:42.959 --> 00:01:48.599 This coffee sucks. Ryan takes one more sip, powers down the window, 21 00:01:48.719 --> 00:01:53.519 and chucks the plastic cup out into the rain. Sam shrugs, next 22 00:01:53.519 --> 00:02:00.239 time you're buying. Then. Sam takes the stir back into his cup and 23 00:02:00.319 --> 00:02:04.719 takes another sip. Once we get this signal here, you're going to wish 24 00:02:04.760 --> 00:02:08.080 that coffee had been regular, That caffeine pumpin through you, old man. 25 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:14.840 Ryan leans his head back against the headrest. Sam is right. They have 26 00:02:14.919 --> 00:02:19.400 been canvassing this house for three days, which is a long time for federal 27 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:23.199 marshals to stake out one of their possibles. The call should becoming any minute, 28 00:02:23.439 --> 00:02:29.080 and Ryan is ready. He has been a federal marshal in Washington, 29 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:32.000 d C. For twenty years. At fifty two years old, he is 30 00:02:32.039 --> 00:02:37.560 not what he used to be, but he still feels that anticipation and adrenaline 31 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:42.159 surging through him every time he's on the job. The steakouts are still the 32 00:02:42.199 --> 00:02:46.520 most fun. Ryan is at the ready, alert, always waiting for that 33 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:51.599 call to come. When it does, he goes into high gear. The 34 00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:55.879 job of a federal marshal is very specific. Ryan and his partner Sam never 35 00:02:55.919 --> 00:03:00.840 solve crimes, and they never care whether a fugitive is guilty. Their job 36 00:03:00.919 --> 00:03:07.599 is simply defined them murderers, armed robbers, drug dealers, defendants who skip 37 00:03:07.639 --> 00:03:12.439 court dates, rapists, prostitutes. Ryan and Sam hunt them down and chase 38 00:03:12.520 --> 00:03:15.479 them all. It is a dangerous job, not for the faint of heart. 39 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:22.080 Ryan has participated in standoffs, high speed chases, and all that other 40 00:03:22.159 --> 00:03:27.080 shit on television and in movies. He's lived it. He is the modern 41 00:03:27.159 --> 00:03:30.240 day wild West cowboy, making sure the villain gets run out of town, 42 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:36.000 or so to speak. At least that's how he thinks of himself and the 43 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:42.080 work he does. This particular stakeout is one of the higher profile ones. 44 00:03:42.840 --> 00:03:46.479 DC police had been tracking a known suspect in the area, a drug lord 45 00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:53.360 named Marcus Donovan, known on the street as Maniac. Maniacs started off a 46 00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:58.599 typical street thug, dealing marijuana and some crack as he rose up the ranks, 47 00:03:58.639 --> 00:04:02.840 he began dealing the heavier stuff and dabbling in other criminal activity such as 48 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:09.840 weapons possession and armed robbery. Today, Maniac is wanted an armed robbery and 49 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:14.800 murder charges. He graduated to murder when police were tipped off by one of 50 00:04:14.840 --> 00:04:19.040 their undercover guys. The police officer, who had been part of Maniac's gang 51 00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:25.519 for months, had overheard Maniac confessing to another thug that he and two other 52 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:30.600 goons had killed three teenagers who owed him money for drugs. Allegedly, Maniac 53 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:34.720 and his crew had forced their way into the kid's apartment, tied them up 54 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:39.439 in the attic, and shot them all execution style in the back of the 55 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:44.040 head. They then took the money, jewelry, and drugs from the apartment. 56 00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:47.680 Another roommate, who had been sleeping at his girlfriend's apartment that night, 57 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:54.600 came home the next day only to find them all dead. Sam and Ryan 58 00:04:54.680 --> 00:05:00.600 have been canvassing Maniac's house in the Noma area for three days. North of 59 00:05:00.680 --> 00:05:05.160 Massachusetts or Noma is known for being one of the most dangerous areas in DC, 60 00:05:05.759 --> 00:05:11.160 and Ryan is growing tired of the scenery. This is the job, 61 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:16.040 though it's never been known for its esthetics. Ryan and Sam, along with 62 00:05:16.160 --> 00:05:20.319 DC Metro Police, have a warrant out against this fucker. Now they just 63 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:25.800 need to wait for the call from their supervisor. Ryan knows Maniac is in 64 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:30.199 hiding. He and Sam have not seen him enter or exit the house since 65 00:05:30.240 --> 00:05:33.839 they arrived. He is lying low, biding his time, like so many 66 00:05:33.879 --> 00:05:39.279 of the other criminals do. A few individuals have come and gone through the 67 00:05:39.319 --> 00:05:43.240 front door, but they look to be mostly tweakers out for a fix or 68 00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:47.399 to sell. They are not who they want. They will all get arrested 69 00:05:47.560 --> 00:05:51.120 if they are inside. When Ryan and Sam finally break down the door, 70 00:05:51.600 --> 00:05:58.040 but it is Maniac they are really after. Sam sticks out his hand to 71 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:02.199 fiddle with the radio about how the goddamn thing must be broken. When the 72 00:06:02.279 --> 00:06:08.560 call finally comes, it is dispatch calling out the ten twenty six, the 73 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:13.319 go ahead to apprehend the suspect. Sam yells a quick ten to four back 74 00:06:13.319 --> 00:06:16.720 into the radio and he and Ryan jump out of the car, guns drawn. 75 00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:21.120 They run up the dilapidated wooden stairs to knock on the front door. 76 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:28.680 State and federal police follow them, guns also drawn. They are tracking Maniac 77 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:34.240 also because he is alleged to have traffic drugs over state lines. Sam yells 78 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:38.639 into the door that the police are there and for Marcus to come out with 79 00:06:38.680 --> 00:06:42.040 his hands up, where they will break down the door and everyone will be 80 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:47.199 arrested. Nothing. None of these guys ever come to the door, Ryan 81 00:06:47.240 --> 00:06:53.759 thinks, smirking. He adjusts his gun arm as Sam yells again. Nothing. 82 00:06:54.639 --> 00:06:59.120 On the third try, Sam yells, and afterward steps aside to let 83 00:06:59.160 --> 00:07:03.920 one of the federal police officers use his battering ram. The officer pushes once, 84 00:07:04.040 --> 00:07:09.319 and on the second try, the door gives way, splintering and swinging 85 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:14.480 open. The men rush in, with Ryan leading the way. Ryan yells, 86 00:07:14.519 --> 00:07:17.240 get down, get down, as he runs through the house, pointing 87 00:07:17.240 --> 00:07:21.519 the weapon up and down as he looks into closets, around corners and through 88 00:07:21.600 --> 00:07:28.360 hallways. He has seen this vista a thousand times before. Attics of all 89 00:07:28.399 --> 00:07:32.360 shapes and sizes hide in corners, some nodding off, some crying, most 90 00:07:32.399 --> 00:07:39.480 with needles still stuck in their arms. Babies cry Toddler's scream. The furniture, 91 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:44.120 if there is any, is usually covered with dirty syringes, tie offs, 92 00:07:44.240 --> 00:07:47.959 crack pipes, and white powder. This trap house is no different. 93 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:54.040 Empty soda bottles and chip bags cover the floor, and in the back corner 94 00:07:54.120 --> 00:07:59.160 of the living room, a television blares a midday Judge show. It is 95 00:07:59.199 --> 00:08:03.920 a smell that is always the most disturbing to Ryan. It is a mix 96 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:09.519 of yearnin feces, cigarette and crack smoke. Ryan places his forearm over his 97 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:13.480 mouth and nose so as not to breathe in too much of the rancid smell. 98 00:08:13.279 --> 00:08:18.360 He kicks a bright red plastic toy ball out of his way as he 99 00:08:18.360 --> 00:08:22.519 heads down the hallway. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees 100 00:08:22.560 --> 00:08:26.560 three police officers run up the stairs as two others begin arresting the attics. 101 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:33.759 Downstairs. He hears Sam asking the most lucid of the individuals where maniac is 102 00:08:33.360 --> 00:08:37.000 and telling her that she will face lesser charges if she gives him up. 103 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:43.080 The woman refuses. In front of him. Through the kitchen, Ryan sees 104 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:48.919 a black man in his early twenties sprint out the back door. He yells 105 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:54.840 to him to stop police, but the man continues running. Ryan follows him, 106 00:08:54.919 --> 00:08:58.799 running behind him out the door. As the man jumps the back steps 107 00:08:58.919 --> 00:09:03.960 and heads from the adjoy winning yard, Ryan yells into his radio, signaling 108 00:09:03.960 --> 00:09:09.320 a ten eighty chase in progress and tucks the gun into his side. As 109 00:09:09.399 --> 00:09:13.919 Ryan is sprinting toward him. The black man trips and falls, crashing into 110 00:09:13.960 --> 00:09:18.480 a fence that lines the side of the neighbor's yard. Ryan tackles him, 111 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:22.000 falling on top of the man as he squirms underneath him. Shit man, 112 00:09:22.080 --> 00:09:28.120 let me go. The man looks up as he wiggles underneath Ryan. It 113 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:31.919 is not Maniac. Ryan pins the man down on the ground with his left 114 00:09:33.039 --> 00:09:35.960 arm and fumbles into his pocket for his handcuffs. With his right. He 115 00:09:37.039 --> 00:09:39.759 is about to read the man his rights when his radio crackles into action. 116 00:09:41.480 --> 00:09:46.960 The dispatcher is saying that Maniac has been apprehended. The subject is in custody. 117 00:09:46.120 --> 00:09:52.919 One of the guys upstairs must have apprehended him. Ryan thinks, let's 118 00:09:52.960 --> 00:09:56.960 go. You're fucked. Ryan says to the man, yanking him up by 119 00:09:56.000 --> 00:10:01.639 his arms that are now handcuffed together behind him. I'm going to read you 120 00:10:01.639 --> 00:10:05.039 your rights now. I suggest you listen. The man spits on the ground 121 00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:09.519 next to Ryan. Ryan ignores him and walks the man into the back door 122 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:13.519 and through the house. He reads him his rights as they walk, pushing 123 00:10:13.600 --> 00:10:18.639 him forward. With every step on the front lawn. Through the chaos, 124 00:10:18.759 --> 00:10:24.759 Ryan sees Sam escorting maniac to a state police car. Other officers stand on 125 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:30.279 the lawn questioning the other inhabitants of the house. The toddlers and babies who 126 00:10:30.279 --> 00:10:33.720 are taken from the house are in a huddle on the lawn, still crying, 127 00:10:33.080 --> 00:10:37.840 while an officer kneels down to try to explain to them why they have 128 00:10:37.960 --> 00:10:41.080 to go away for a while. Ryan tries to block out the cries of 129 00:10:41.159 --> 00:10:48.960 mommy and daddy that he hears. He doesn't typically succeed. Ryan hands off 130 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:52.200 his arrestee to one of the state officers who will take him to county to 131 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:56.879 be booked. It looks as if the state and federal officers have a hold 132 00:10:56.919 --> 00:11:01.720 on this one. He signals to Sam to come meet him by the car. 133 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:05.840 They will swing by county to find out if the other officers need any 134 00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:11.080 help with the booking, but typically they are waved away. Sam jogs up 135 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:15.519 to the car and joins Ryan behind it. As they survey the scene, 136 00:11:16.080 --> 00:11:20.559 Sam choose on a toothpick that he has fished from his pocket. Ryan places 137 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:22.919 his hands on the hood of the car, then looks up, running his 138 00:11:22.960 --> 00:11:28.879 fingers through his hair. How's that coffee treating you just fine? Thanks, 139 00:11:30.960 --> 00:11:35.960 County. Ryan nods, yeah, probably won't need us though. Sam agrees, 140 00:11:37.799 --> 00:11:41.519 in which case, I say we go grab a beer on you. 141 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:48.240 Ryan nods again and opens the passenger side door. Sam slides into the driver's 142 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:52.960 side and starts the engine. One of the deputies on the lawn is taking 143 00:11:52.039 --> 00:11:58.120 names of the suspects and gives them a salute. Ryan looks straight ahead as 144 00:11:58.159 --> 00:12:05.960 Sam pulls the car away from the curb. Chapter five, Jessica passed. 145 00:12:09.399 --> 00:12:13.879 Jessica had never really had much of a social life. Social lives were kind 146 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:18.919 of tough to have when one was homeschooled. When she turned seven years old 147 00:12:20.120 --> 00:12:24.240 and realized her birthday party consisted of dinner ordered in from the local sushi place 148 00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:30.159 and her parents drinking too much wine at dinner, she vowed to somehow become 149 00:12:30.240 --> 00:12:33.360 more normal. She begged and begged her mother to find her a friend, 150 00:12:33.759 --> 00:12:41.639 and for years her mother refused. Lisa Walker told Jessica that Jessica had her 151 00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:46.440 mother and her father and that was all she needed. Jessica didn't buy it 152 00:12:46.600 --> 00:12:52.120 and kept insisting she'd go over to someone's house. Anyone's house really to play. 153 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:56.679 When she was eight years old, Jessica was taken over to Robbie Miller's 154 00:12:56.679 --> 00:13:03.360 house to do just that. There were a few problems with this. First 155 00:13:03.399 --> 00:13:07.240 of all, Robbie was a boy. Jessica would have much preferred to play 156 00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:13.080 with a girl of her own age. Secondly, Robbie pretty much kept to 157 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:18.320 himself the whole time Jessica was there. That little bastard didn't even want to 158 00:13:18.360 --> 00:13:22.919 play legos. Jessica tried and tried to engage with him, suggesting they play 159 00:13:24.039 --> 00:13:28.200 Hide and Seek or a board game, or swim in Robbie's pool, even 160 00:13:28.240 --> 00:13:33.399 though Jessica had never liked swimming. Robbie staunchly refused all of these recommendations. 161 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:39.360 It was for these reasons that Jessica found him boring and unlikable, but then 162 00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:46.399 again, she found most people boring and unlikable. The third problem with the 163 00:13:46.399 --> 00:13:50.639 whole playdate setup was the fact that her mother had come along. Lisa Walker 164 00:13:50.720 --> 00:13:54.360 had not just come along to talk with Robbie's mother, or to have a 165 00:13:54.440 --> 00:13:58.919 cocktail with her, or to do any other thing that normal adults who accompany 166 00:14:00.159 --> 00:14:05.200 their children on play dates would do. No Lisa Walker came to supervise, 167 00:14:05.879 --> 00:14:13.519 and supervise she did like a hawk. For the forty two minutes Jessica was 168 00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:18.240 at Robbie's house, her mother kept both eyes trained on Jessica and a grimace 169 00:14:18.320 --> 00:14:22.639 on her face. No wonder Robbie didn't want to do anything, Jessica thought, 170 00:14:24.200 --> 00:14:30.360 and she couldn't say she blamed him one bit. After that horrendous showing, 171 00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:35.279 Jessica decided to let sleeping dogs lie and never to bring up having a 172 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:39.759 play date or a friend in general. Again. She got the sense that 173 00:14:39.840 --> 00:14:43.440 her mother just wasn't having it and that she should resign herself to the fact 174 00:14:43.480 --> 00:14:50.120 that her mother was unusually strict and controlling. On a daily basis, Jessica 175 00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:54.000 was expected to have her classes, eat lunch, which typically consisted of a 176 00:14:54.000 --> 00:15:00.320 turkey sandwich with mustard and cheese, carrots and milk, to her homework than 177 00:15:00.399 --> 00:15:05.639 have dinner with her parents. Jessica was allowed one hour of TV a night, 178 00:15:05.080 --> 00:15:09.840 and this was a program of her mother's choosing, usually Joe Millionaire or 179 00:15:09.879 --> 00:15:16.720 American Idol. Then it was bedtime at nine pm up until the time she 180 00:15:16.840 --> 00:15:22.799 was sixteen years old. Surprisingly, Jessica didn't feel animosity toward her mother for 181 00:15:22.919 --> 00:15:30.039 these limitations she placed on her. She did, however, feel animosity towards 182 00:15:30.039 --> 00:15:33.200 her father. Maybe it had to do with the fact that she spent most 183 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:37.919 of her time with her mother. As she taught Jessica her studies from the 184 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:43.440 confines of her home every day for seventeen years, she and her mother developed 185 00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:48.399 a closer bond. She still found her mother to be a passive, aggressive, 186 00:15:48.600 --> 00:15:54.120 weak idiot, but at least she wasn't a complete asshole like her father. 187 00:15:54.759 --> 00:16:00.080 Her father seemed to like golfing more than he liked his family. Her 188 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:03.799 father seemed to like working more than he liked his family. Most nights, 189 00:16:03.879 --> 00:16:08.080 it would only be Jessica and her mother eating something her mother had made for 190 00:16:08.159 --> 00:16:12.720 dinner, or dining on takeout from one of the local restaurants because they never 191 00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:18.000 went out to eat With no Martin Walker in sight. He'd come home late, 192 00:16:18.279 --> 00:16:22.320 typically giving her mother some bullshit excuse as to why he had missed the 193 00:16:22.360 --> 00:16:29.960 meal he had to work or was coming from drinks with buddies. Jessica knew 194 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:33.879 this was bullshit because her father didn't have any buddies. Much like herself, 195 00:16:34.200 --> 00:16:41.120 her parents didn't have friends. The three lived into Funiac Springs, Florida. 196 00:16:41.279 --> 00:16:45.240 Jessica was born there, but felt no sort of way about the place. 197 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:51.679 It was too hot, too white, trash for her, too few people, 198 00:16:52.120 --> 00:16:56.759 although since she never saw anyone anyway, she supposed the population of the 199 00:16:56.759 --> 00:17:00.200 town mattered little. There was nothing to do, no one to see. 200 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:07.240 It was a humdrum existence. Martin seemed to find plenty of things to do. 201 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:12.599 He was always off golfing or drinking. Jessica assumed it was by himself 202 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:18.920 or out doing god knew what. At first, Jessica resented him for going 203 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:22.200 out and doing things while her mother and she were stuck in the house playing 204 00:17:22.279 --> 00:17:27.559 school and being bored, But soon Jessica found that she didn't care. She 205 00:17:27.640 --> 00:17:33.559 was perfectly content to keep to herself, do homework and watch Joe Millionaire on 206 00:17:33.680 --> 00:17:38.359 Fox. She often wondered why her mother never stood up for herself and insisted 207 00:17:38.359 --> 00:17:42.279 that Martin take her out, show her off, have some sort of life 208 00:17:42.440 --> 00:17:48.160 outside of cooking pasta in the kitchen of fourteen oh three Done d Street, 209 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:53.400 but she never did. Perhaps Lisa, much like Jessica, didn't want to 210 00:17:53.440 --> 00:18:00.160 spend much time with Martin Walker four times a year at the beginning of winter, 211 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:04.400 summer, spring, and fall, her mother would take Jessica shopping at 212 00:18:04.440 --> 00:18:11.480 the Defuniac Springs Mall. Jessica enjoyed this. Lisa Walker still never let her 213 00:18:11.559 --> 00:18:17.200 out of her sight, but it was something to do. Jessica liked getting 214 00:18:17.200 --> 00:18:21.200 new clothes, even though no one besides her mother and father ever saw her 215 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:26.599 wear anything. They only went four times a year because, as Lisa Walker 216 00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:30.200 said, it wasn't prudent to replenish your wardrobe more than once a season. 217 00:18:32.319 --> 00:18:36.559 Jessica wanted to counter with the fact that it wasn't prudent to go shopping at 218 00:18:36.640 --> 00:18:41.400 all other than for summer clothes because they lived in Florida and the temperature was 219 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:47.079 almost always over seventy five degrees, but she held her tongue. She wanted 220 00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:52.279 to go shopping, so she didn't care how her mother justified it. So 221 00:18:52.400 --> 00:18:56.400 Jessica was surprised one day in May, when she was a junior in filling 222 00:18:56.400 --> 00:19:00.359 out college applications, that her mother burst through the door and announced they were 223 00:19:00.400 --> 00:19:07.240 going shopping. They had already been shopping for Jessica's new spring wardrobe at the 224 00:19:07.319 --> 00:19:12.519 beginning of April. For what Jessica asked capping her pen and shoving her folder 225 00:19:12.599 --> 00:19:18.519 to the side for a dress. Silly, this is a special occasion. 226 00:19:18.839 --> 00:19:25.519 What's the special occasion. Your father's company is having a party. He was 227 00:19:25.559 --> 00:19:32.519 one of the top brokers this year. Good for him, Jessica was unimpressed. 228 00:19:33.559 --> 00:19:37.759 Jessica didn't know what her father did for a living or care. It 229 00:19:37.920 --> 00:19:41.400 was something to do with money. That was all she knew. She had 230 00:19:41.480 --> 00:19:47.559 no desire to dig deeper into the world of Martin Walker. We're both invited, 231 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:52.799 it's tonight. Her mother could not contain her excitement. Okay, Then 232 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:56.480 Jessica stood up and reached for her purse that was hanging on the back of 233 00:19:56.519 --> 00:20:03.240 the chair. I'll believe it when it happens. Oh, don't be so 234 00:20:03.480 --> 00:20:08.000 negative, Jessica. Her mother scolded her. You know your father and I 235 00:20:08.160 --> 00:20:12.680 used to I know, I know, Jessica cut her off. He used 236 00:20:12.680 --> 00:20:18.319 to go out all the time to fancy parties and to meet celebrities. I 237 00:20:18.440 --> 00:20:22.359 get it. Her mother pressed her mouth in a firm line, but didn't 238 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:27.480 reply. She reached for her keys, and Jessica followed her to the garage. 239 00:20:29.400 --> 00:20:33.599 Her mother told her all the time about how before she was born, 240 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:37.480 she and her father used to go out to parties and fundraisers and charity functions 241 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:44.559 galore. She gave no explanation as to why they didn't. Now, Jessica 242 00:20:44.599 --> 00:20:48.799 always got the feeling that her mother blamed her for this change in lifestyle. 243 00:20:48.440 --> 00:20:52.480 She couldn't imagine why, and she knew it sounded strange, but it was 244 00:20:52.519 --> 00:20:57.880 just a feeling. Jessica got. Another thing her mother and Martin always told 245 00:20:57.880 --> 00:21:03.920 her was that they would be attending fancy parties and fundraisers and charity functions present 246 00:21:04.079 --> 00:21:11.039 day. They never went. Something always fell through. Usually, Martin would 247 00:21:11.039 --> 00:21:15.799 have some excuse as to why they couldn't go to whatever it was they were 248 00:21:15.839 --> 00:21:18.799 invited to, and he would act like it was no big deal to begin 249 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:25.319 with. Jessica and her mother would get ready for said event and wait downstairs, 250 00:21:25.759 --> 00:21:30.119 her mother making constant excuses as to why Martin was late while drinking wine. 251 00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:34.319 After an hour passed the scheduled time when they were supposed to leave, 252 00:21:34.720 --> 00:21:40.559 Martin would come home, tie askew and sigh as he placed his briefcase on 253 00:21:40.599 --> 00:21:45.960 the counter. After putting on his best I'm tired face, he would whine 254 00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:48.359 and moan about how it had been such a hard day at the office, 255 00:21:48.640 --> 00:21:53.359 and how would it be okay if we just stayed home tonight and I'm exhausted 256 00:21:53.559 --> 00:21:59.279 and blah blah blah. Her mother would console him, patting him on the 257 00:21:59.319 --> 00:22:03.000 back and would say, of course we can stay home. Your coworkers will 258 00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:08.559 understand. Let me order us in something to eat, and Jessica and her 259 00:22:08.599 --> 00:22:12.880 mother would take off the new dresses they had bought just for the occasion, 260 00:22:14.359 --> 00:22:18.880 and they would all sit and watch TV while she ate pizza and her parents 261 00:22:18.960 --> 00:22:26.240 drank wine. That was always how it went, so needless to say, 262 00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:32.079 anytime her mother wanted to take her shopping for a special occasion, Jessica was 263 00:22:32.200 --> 00:22:37.319 never too optimistic. This time was no different. They went to Sax's Fifth 264 00:22:37.319 --> 00:22:42.160 Avenue and Lisa Walker picked out a deep blue dress with a plunging neckline for 265 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:48.480 herself, and Jessica got a yellow dress with a swirly skirt. She felt 266 00:22:48.480 --> 00:22:52.000 the dress was too young for her, but when she saw the price tag, 267 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:56.519 she decided to keep quiet. It was four hundred dollars. Jessica had 268 00:22:56.559 --> 00:23:02.480 never owned a four hundred dollars dress before, for she felt special and very 269 00:23:02.599 --> 00:23:07.559 pretty. Her mother then picked out tiny pearl drop earrings for herself and Jessica 270 00:23:07.720 --> 00:23:12.480 and matching Bengal bracelets. As she was paying for the jewelry, her mother 271 00:23:12.599 --> 00:23:18.079 suddenly turned to face, her eyes flashing excitedly, Let's go get her hair 272 00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:22.440 and makeup done. What do you say? Lisa Walker looked at Jessica and 273 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:27.359 grabbed her hand, pulling her toward the salon. It will be a special 274 00:23:27.400 --> 00:23:33.680 treat. Jessica let herself be pulled along. She was excited. She had 275 00:23:33.720 --> 00:23:38.400 never had her hair and makeup done before, and she thought maybe this time 276 00:23:38.519 --> 00:23:44.359 it would be different. Maybe they would go to her father's company party, 277 00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:48.680 where she would talk to grown ups about things like politics and current events and 278 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:55.240 the law thinks she was interested in and had researched extensively. She would wear 279 00:23:55.319 --> 00:24:00.000 her pretty yellow dress and Martin's co workers would probably mistake her for a year 280 00:24:00.039 --> 00:24:03.880 young broker at the company, and she would laugh and explain that, oh 281 00:24:03.960 --> 00:24:07.480 no, she was just Martin's seventeen year old daughter, and the co workers 282 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:12.440 would gasp and exclaim, but you're so beautiful and so wise beyond your years, 283 00:24:12.519 --> 00:24:18.599 how can that be? And Jessica would simply smile and sit the champagne 284 00:24:18.640 --> 00:24:23.160 that she would have taken with no questions asked. This was the scenario that 285 00:24:23.200 --> 00:24:29.200 played over and over in her head. She didn't even mind when, while 286 00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:33.279 the Korean girl was doing her nails, her mother told her a little too 287 00:24:33.319 --> 00:24:37.640 loudly not to take the tag off her dress, you know, just in 288 00:24:37.720 --> 00:24:42.279 case we need to take it back. Jessica found this to be completely ghaush 289 00:24:42.319 --> 00:24:47.279 and mortifying, but she was in such a good mood she didn't let it 290 00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:52.279 bother her. Two hours later, hair and makeup done and dresses on, 291 00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:56.960 she and her mother sat across from each other on the living room couch. 292 00:24:56.599 --> 00:25:02.039 Her mother was drinking wine and Jessica was eating a book. Her father was 293 00:25:02.039 --> 00:25:04.759 supposed to be home at seven pm in order to take them to the function. 294 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:10.680 At seven oh five, Jessica heard his car in the garage. She 295 00:25:10.839 --> 00:25:15.839 stood up, smoothing her dress. Her father had never arrived home on time 296 00:25:15.880 --> 00:25:22.079 before. Maybe they would actually be going. Her father came in the back 297 00:25:22.119 --> 00:25:26.119 door, and her mother greeted him with a kiss. Jessica waited expectantly. 298 00:25:27.480 --> 00:25:33.839 Lisa, Jessica. Her father greeted them as if he were across the table 299 00:25:33.960 --> 00:25:38.200 from them. In a high stress litigation matter you both look lovely, he 300 00:25:38.319 --> 00:25:42.960 finished, without actually looking up at them. Instead, he headed for the 301 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:48.720 wet bar against the back wall in the kitchen. There he poured himself four 302 00:25:48.759 --> 00:25:53.039 fingers of whiskey. He typically drank wine. The three of them stood in 303 00:25:53.160 --> 00:26:00.000 uncomfortable silence until Martin finally spoke again. Lisa, I'm exhausted. It was 304 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:04.440 quite a day at the office. The boss was on my ass all morning, 305 00:26:04.480 --> 00:26:10.680 and I just can't drag myself to the function, not tonight. He 306 00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:15.400 took a sip from his glass. Jessica's mother patted him contritely on the head. 307 00:26:17.279 --> 00:26:21.759 There there, That's okay. We understand, don't we, Jessica. 308 00:26:21.880 --> 00:26:26.279 Let's just order a pizza and relax. Jessica, can you get me the 309 00:26:26.400 --> 00:26:33.400 pizza delivery menu? Jessica ignored her. She was seething her father had fooled 310 00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:40.960 them again. But Dad, isn't this party for you, for you being 311 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:45.480 the best broker or something. Don't you think you should probably show up at 312 00:26:45.480 --> 00:26:51.839 your own stupid party. Martin's face darkened and he placed his glass on the 313 00:26:51.880 --> 00:26:59.359 bar. I said, he started pausing between every word for emphasis. I 314 00:26:59.400 --> 00:27:06.480 said, I tired. We are not going end of discussion. Jessica Marie 315 00:27:06.599 --> 00:27:11.960 Walker. He turned to his wife, I will take pepperoni and pineapple on 316 00:27:12.039 --> 00:27:18.279 my pizza and order a salad. I'm going to lie down with that. 317 00:27:18.519 --> 00:27:22.680 Martin headed to the couch while Jessica's mother was already on the phone with the 318 00:27:22.720 --> 00:27:27.359 pizza store. It was on speed dial. Jessica glared at her mother. 319 00:27:27.920 --> 00:27:33.880 The glare went unnoticed. She then flipped her father off. No one could 320 00:27:33.920 --> 00:27:37.920 see it because she was already halfway up the stairs, stamping her feet and 321 00:27:37.960 --> 00:27:41.319 taking them two at a time. She ran into her room and slammed the 322 00:27:41.400 --> 00:27:45.759 door. She tore the pearl earrings out of her ears and pulled the bracelet 323 00:27:45.799 --> 00:27:51.000 off her wrist. Jessica threw them both in the trash can next to her 324 00:27:51.079 --> 00:27:56.000 desk. She then pulled her new yellow dress over her head and flung it 325 00:27:56.079 --> 00:28:00.559 on the bed. Without hesitation, and with great pleasure, she ripped off 326 00:28:00.559 --> 00:28:06.039 the price tag from the top of the dress, just because her mother had 327 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:18.319 explicitly told her not to. Chapter six, Ryan present it's way too hot 328 00:28:18.599 --> 00:28:23.279 to be wearing a leather jacket. Ryan realizes it's too hot to be wearing 329 00:28:23.279 --> 00:28:27.440 blue jeans, but jeans are one of the few clean laundry items in his 330 00:28:27.480 --> 00:28:33.160 apartment, and he all but threw the remaining dirty clothes into his duffel bag. 331 00:28:33.279 --> 00:28:37.240 When packing. He forgot how hot this damned desert sun can be. 332 00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:44.039 It makes him uncomfortable standing and sweating in the sun for so long. He 333 00:28:44.119 --> 00:28:48.000 doesn't know how these desert people do it. He'd go crazy being this hot 334 00:28:48.119 --> 00:28:53.680 every goddamn day. The clerk at the Super eight Kingman had looked at him 335 00:28:53.720 --> 00:29:00.200 suspiciously as he checked in. Ryan assumed that was because he was wearing a 336 00:29:00.279 --> 00:29:04.039 leather jacket when the temperature was a hundred degrees outside, and because he never 337 00:29:04.119 --> 00:29:08.640 took off his sunglasses while he talked to her. Ryan didn't want to be 338 00:29:08.799 --> 00:29:14.000 rude, but they had only exchanged a few words, and the Native American 339 00:29:14.039 --> 00:29:18.599 clerks seemed like she had better things to worry about than some white man behind 340 00:29:18.640 --> 00:29:23.680 her counter not taking off his sunglasses. Ryan had assumed she had seen weirder 341 00:29:23.720 --> 00:29:30.160 and worse. Plus, he had just driven two thousand, three hundred miles 342 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:34.039 with one stop overnight for a three hour rest before hitting the road again to 343 00:29:34.160 --> 00:29:38.880 drive the remaining ten hours of his thirty four hour trip. He was not 344 00:29:40.039 --> 00:29:45.400 concerned with how he looked or smelled. He always stayed at the Super eight 345 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:49.680 when he came to Peach Springs. He chose it the first year he came 346 00:29:49.720 --> 00:29:55.400 to check up on her because it was the cheapest motel around. Back then, 347 00:29:55.519 --> 00:30:00.799 in nineteen ninety five, it had cost fifteen dollars a night. These 348 00:30:00.880 --> 00:30:04.960 days it was forty two dollars a night. Because price inflation was a bitch. 349 00:30:07.039 --> 00:30:11.559 Ryan kept staying there because it remained the cheapest motel in the area. 350 00:30:11.720 --> 00:30:15.400 Also, he was a creature of habit and he liked knowing that he would 351 00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:21.880 be someplace familiar when he came around. Even though the Super eight Kingman was 352 00:30:21.920 --> 00:30:26.400 a good thirty five miles outside of Peach Springs where she lived, it was 353 00:30:26.400 --> 00:30:30.680 a stone's throw from the truck stop where she worked. Ryan didn't like hanging 354 00:30:30.680 --> 00:30:37.480 around Peach Springs to keep tabs on her. He felt slimy and stokersh even 355 00:30:37.480 --> 00:30:41.279 though that's exactly what he was. He knew he was, but he didn't 356 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:47.400 want people in the town knowing that as well. Indians gossip a lot, 357 00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:52.160 and Ryan wanted to avoid the scrutiny as best as he could, so he 358 00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:56.039 stayed at the Super eight and went to the truck stop. Most days he 359 00:30:56.160 --> 00:31:00.359 was there, he ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the diner. 360 00:31:00.440 --> 00:31:06.240 Inside. The food was decent and new Kingman Butler was severely lacking in dining 361 00:31:06.359 --> 00:31:11.079 choices, but those weren't the reasons why he ate there so frequently. It 362 00:31:11.119 --> 00:31:15.319 was just to see her. It was just to make sure she was doing 363 00:31:15.359 --> 00:31:19.960 okay. A few years ago, he figured the smart efficient thing to do 364 00:31:21.319 --> 00:31:25.920 would be to inquire about her schedule, to inquire about her shifts, and 365 00:31:26.000 --> 00:31:29.519 to come in to eat at the truck stop during the times when she worked. 366 00:31:30.359 --> 00:31:33.480 But he soon put aside that thought, realizing not only would that make 367 00:31:33.559 --> 00:31:38.759 him seem completely creepy and scary, but also that he enjoyed being in the 368 00:31:38.839 --> 00:31:44.680 restaurant. Even when she wasn't there. He still felt her, He still 369 00:31:44.759 --> 00:31:49.640 saw her face as he sat in the cracked plastic booth, somehow easily convincing 370 00:31:49.720 --> 00:31:55.319 himself that she was safe even when not in his presence. The diner was 371 00:31:55.400 --> 00:32:00.039 his safety blanket of sorts, so was the super Eate. This is why 372 00:32:00.079 --> 00:32:05.440 he traveled between the two locations for as long as his schedule allowed him to 373 00:32:05.440 --> 00:32:09.359 stay in Arizona, typically a week was about all the time he could get 374 00:32:09.400 --> 00:32:15.119 off before his next assignment, So for a week he would sleep at the 375 00:32:15.200 --> 00:32:19.359 motel, eat three meals a day at the diner, and in between them, 376 00:32:19.759 --> 00:32:22.160 sit in his car parked at the side of the truck stop, where 377 00:32:22.200 --> 00:32:28.400 he could see in the diner windows without attracting too much attention. He could 378 00:32:28.480 --> 00:32:31.359 keep an eye on her without being seen, and she would never notice him. 379 00:32:32.799 --> 00:32:37.160 He had never once taken off his sunglasses in the twenty three years he 380 00:32:37.200 --> 00:32:42.599 had been coming to Arizona to see her, unless he was alone inside his 381 00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:47.079 hotel room. And now he's back. Ryan stemps out of the sedan, 382 00:32:47.480 --> 00:32:52.440 noting that the car is already starting to get stifling after only two minutes, 383 00:32:52.880 --> 00:32:59.200 and looks around at the familiar landscape. What a shit town, he thinks. 384 00:33:00.039 --> 00:33:04.279 The same thought goes through his mind every year. Who in their right 385 00:33:04.319 --> 00:33:07.319 mind would want to live here? As he fumbles with the car keys in 386 00:33:07.480 --> 00:33:13.119 order to automatically lock the doors, he sees her leaning against the wall of 387 00:33:13.119 --> 00:33:16.920 the truck stop, smoking and staring at him. He feels as if the 388 00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:22.519 wind has been knocked out of him. He wasn't expecting to see her until 389 00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:27.240 he set foot inside the diner, but there she is, right in front 390 00:33:27.279 --> 00:33:30.200 of him. She is wearing a white tank top with a small hole near 391 00:33:30.200 --> 00:33:36.480 the right bottom corner, and a pair of indecently short jean shorts. Through 392 00:33:36.480 --> 00:33:39.960 the flimsy tank he can see the outline of a triangle shaped bikini top, 393 00:33:40.400 --> 00:33:45.279 both sides of which are flush against her skin. Because of the almost complete 394 00:33:45.359 --> 00:33:50.680 lack of breast tissue on her chest, she has the upper body of a 395 00:33:50.720 --> 00:33:55.039 twelve year old boy. The daisy dukes barely cover her ass cheeks, where 396 00:33:55.079 --> 00:34:00.519 there is more of a shape to her. She is wearing hot pink tattered 397 00:34:00.519 --> 00:34:04.319 flip flops, with one of the straps being held together with duct tape. 398 00:34:04.839 --> 00:34:09.239 Her skin is white, almost alabaster, with small freckles dotting a good majority 399 00:34:09.239 --> 00:34:14.800 of it. Her brown hair comes to just below her shoulders, and as 400 00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:19.199 he watches, she snaps a black hair tie off her wrists and winds it 401 00:34:19.280 --> 00:34:23.559 expertly in her hair until it becomes a ponytail, all the while never taking 402 00:34:23.599 --> 00:34:29.559 her eyes off of him or removing the cigarette from her lips. At least, 403 00:34:29.559 --> 00:34:34.239 he has always assumed her hair is brown. Ryan realizes he's never looked 404 00:34:34.239 --> 00:34:37.679 at her before without sunglasses. On, and they turn everything to a darker 405 00:34:37.800 --> 00:34:44.320 hue. He is suddenly overtaken by the urge to see her true hair color, 406 00:34:44.840 --> 00:34:46.840 to touch it, and smell it, but he does none of these 407 00:34:46.880 --> 00:34:53.920 things, and nervously adjusts his sunglasses instead. She continues to look suspiciously at 408 00:34:54.039 --> 00:34:59.840 him, pursing her lips into a small shape. She flicks a cigarette to 409 00:34:59.840 --> 00:35:02.840 the ground, places her hands on her hips, and slowly cocks her head 410 00:35:02.880 --> 00:35:07.199 to the side, as if studying him. Her eyes move up and down, 411 00:35:07.400 --> 00:35:15.000 taking him all in, sizing him up. She speaks first, Hey, 412 00:35:15.199 --> 00:35:21.440 glasses your back. Long time no see it is the most beautiful sound 413 00:35:21.480 --> 00:35:27.079 he has ever heard. That nickname. He loves kids named Ryan don't grow 414 00:35:27.159 --> 00:35:30.920 up having a nickname, and she was the first person ever to give him 415 00:35:30.920 --> 00:35:36.039 one. He never takes off his sunglasses around her either. He wants to 416 00:35:36.280 --> 00:35:42.159 God he does, but he hasn't, and he won't. What are you 417 00:35:42.199 --> 00:35:47.679 doing out here? Shouldn't you be inside working? Freedom mimes smoking with her 418 00:35:47.760 --> 00:35:52.920 right hand, putting two fingers up against her lips and pulling them away from 419 00:35:52.920 --> 00:35:58.639 her face. Got to quit those things, they're bad for you inside, 420 00:35:58.840 --> 00:36:04.920 Ryan winces. He hates sounding like her father. Didn't you use to smoke 421 00:36:04.960 --> 00:36:08.800 glasses? Sure everyone did, but it's not the same. It was a 422 00:36:08.800 --> 00:36:14.360 different time. Yeah yeah, Well what else am I supposed to do out 423 00:36:14.400 --> 00:36:19.719 here in reservation country? It's so boring you need to smoke. If not, 424 00:36:19.960 --> 00:36:25.000 everyone go crazy with nothing to do. Ryan ignores this comment and instead 425 00:36:25.119 --> 00:36:30.519 heads for the door of the restaurant. You coming, it's too hot out 426 00:36:30.519 --> 00:36:36.159 here. Freedom kicks her feet as she follows him, sending sand spraying up 427 00:36:36.199 --> 00:36:40.639 around her ankles and Ryan's she's like a little girl, Ryan thinks, acting 428 00:36:40.679 --> 00:36:45.639 out and pouting. Freedom shows him to a booth by the window, where 429 00:36:45.719 --> 00:36:50.719 Ryan has a lovely view of the parking lot to the west. She sits 430 00:36:50.760 --> 00:36:55.159 down across from him, twirls her hair in her fingers. Dakota's been on 431 00:36:55.239 --> 00:37:00.599 my ass all day, buggin' me wants me to entertain all the truckers. 432 00:37:02.079 --> 00:37:07.559 That sounds thrilling. Ryan picks up a menu and pretends to look at it, 433 00:37:07.840 --> 00:37:12.400 but in reality, he is studying her. She looks slightly more gaunt 434 00:37:12.440 --> 00:37:15.760 than last year, like she's lost weight. She's always been thin, but 435 00:37:15.920 --> 00:37:21.599 this time she looks like a rail. She continues talking about the truckers. 436 00:37:22.440 --> 00:37:30.280 I ain't in the mood you know not today? Don't say ain't Freedom gaffas 437 00:37:30.119 --> 00:37:36.719 glasses you're always trying to correct my english. Give it up. I ain't 438 00:37:36.800 --> 00:37:42.239 ever gonna talk all proper like U DC folk. Now she's making fun of 439 00:37:42.320 --> 00:37:46.760 him, taunting him. Besides, what are you gonna have? Don't act 440 00:37:46.800 --> 00:37:50.920 like you don't know that menu like the back of your hand. It ain't 441 00:37:51.039 --> 00:37:55.760 change none since you've been here last. I'll have the ruben hold the Thousand 442 00:37:55.760 --> 00:38:01.519 Island dressing coming right up. Freedom scoots out of the booth, and, 443 00:38:01.639 --> 00:38:06.039 with not even so much as a glance back at him, heads toward the 444 00:38:06.119 --> 00:38:10.719 kitchen. Ran wonders if she'll continue to sit with him while he eats. 445 00:38:10.719 --> 00:38:15.159 Sometimes she does, and sometimes she doesn't. It depends on how busy she 446 00:38:15.400 --> 00:38:20.480 is that hour and what kind of mood she's in. She can be fickle 447 00:38:20.599 --> 00:38:24.400 or downright rude and ignore him. Ryan doesn't mind the fickle, but he 448 00:38:24.480 --> 00:38:30.480 dislikes the rude and hates being ignored. He has to remind himself that she 449 00:38:30.599 --> 00:38:36.239 has no idea that he drives thirty four hours just to see her, and 450 00:38:36.360 --> 00:38:40.639 that if she ignores him, his feelings are hurt. Ryan takes her every 451 00:38:40.679 --> 00:38:45.440 action personally, which he knows he shouldn't. It's not like she knows what 452 00:38:45.519 --> 00:38:52.119 they are to one another or anything about their past relationship. He's chiding himself 453 00:38:52.159 --> 00:38:57.840 for having such pussy esque thoughts. When Freedom walks back with his sandwich, 454 00:38:58.400 --> 00:39:01.440 she places it in front of him and sits down again in the booth across 455 00:39:01.480 --> 00:39:07.559 from him. Ryan suppresses a smile, so she is going to sit with 456 00:39:07.639 --> 00:39:13.559 him. The dressing is on the side. She points to a small paper 457 00:39:13.599 --> 00:39:19.039 cup filled with thousand island dressing that is dangling precariously off the side of the 458 00:39:19.119 --> 00:39:23.360 plate. I see that. Yeah, well, Eduardo in the backs, 459 00:39:23.559 --> 00:39:28.960 not so good on the English if you catch my drift. I told him 460 00:39:29.000 --> 00:39:32.760 to leave it off, but he put it on the side instead. Freedom 461 00:39:32.800 --> 00:39:38.039 finishes her sentence and looks at him expectantly, as if daring him to comment 462 00:39:38.159 --> 00:39:45.880 on such a mundane statement. That's fine. Ryan nudges the paper cup off 463 00:39:45.880 --> 00:39:49.039 of his plate with the tip of his knife and picks up his sandwich. 464 00:39:49.920 --> 00:39:54.320 Evidently this humorous Freedom, because she starts to giggle. What you got against 465 00:39:54.519 --> 00:40:02.119 Russian dressing glasses? Nothing but this? This isn't Russian dressing, Okay? 466 00:40:02.679 --> 00:40:09.320 Freedom rolls her eyes. What you got against thousand island dressing? She hits 467 00:40:09.360 --> 00:40:15.920 the word thousand an island hard, denoting her sarcasm. Don't like it. 468 00:40:16.239 --> 00:40:21.320 Freedom, who seems bored, reaches for her cigarettes in her apron and lights 469 00:40:21.360 --> 00:40:27.840 one myself. I don't care for them. Russians didn't they hack everybody? 470 00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:36.519 Or something something like that. She is chatty today. Ryan continues eating the 471 00:40:36.639 --> 00:40:39.960 sandwich tastes like a cigarette because of the lingering smoke in the diner, and 472 00:40:40.079 --> 00:40:44.760 because of the smoke, Freedom is blowing in his face. But Ryan doesn't 473 00:40:44.800 --> 00:40:49.239 care. He'd rather have her here talking to him cigarette smoke or not, 474 00:40:49.719 --> 00:40:53.760 than have her be out of her sight or God forbid, waiting on another 475 00:40:53.840 --> 00:41:00.119 table. Lucky for him, he seems to be the only customer save for 476 00:41:00.199 --> 00:41:05.079 one trucker sitting at the bar. Ryan gets jealous when she talks to other 477 00:41:05.159 --> 00:41:09.440 men. Hell, he gets jealous if she talks to other women, especially 478 00:41:09.480 --> 00:41:15.000 that drunken cunt of an Indian who was her boss. He could kill that 479 00:41:15.079 --> 00:41:20.760 fat bitch for treating Freedom the way she does. Freedom is still talking, 480 00:41:20.880 --> 00:41:24.320 going on and on about Russians, or maybe now it's about the Mexican Wall 481 00:41:24.440 --> 00:41:30.639 he's not quite sure. Ryan takes the opportunity to study her. She is 482 00:41:30.679 --> 00:41:34.239 a passionate person, and once you get her on a roll, she never 483 00:41:34.280 --> 00:41:38.039 shuts up. She talks like she knows what she's talking about, but Ryan 484 00:41:38.199 --> 00:41:44.800 isn't sure she does. He is eating and half listening when Freedom suddenly snaps 485 00:41:44.800 --> 00:41:50.719 her fingers in his face. Ryan, startled, looks up, Hey, 486 00:41:50.920 --> 00:41:58.400 glasses Hello. She draws out the last word to convey her annoyance with him. 487 00:41:58.480 --> 00:42:01.440 He's just spent all of six minutes with this woman, and already he 488 00:42:01.559 --> 00:42:07.960 seems to be annoying her. Story of his life? Sorry, what was 489 00:42:07.000 --> 00:42:12.559 that? He puts down a sandwich to give her his full attention. I 490 00:42:12.599 --> 00:42:15.880 said, what's with that car of yours? You a cop or something? 491 00:42:17.000 --> 00:42:23.639 What makes you think that it's a badass looking car? It is? Ryan 492 00:42:23.679 --> 00:42:28.719 grabs a few French fries, dipping them in and ketchup and pretends to be 493 00:42:28.800 --> 00:42:32.800 nonchalant, but secretly he is excited that she thinks his car is badass. 494 00:42:35.119 --> 00:42:38.400 Yeah kinda. I mean everyone else here got trucks, you know, same 495 00:42:38.480 --> 00:42:45.840 old, same old. You're different, You're like an international man of mystery, 496 00:42:46.079 --> 00:42:51.679 like that movie. She seems proud of herself as she stubs out her 497 00:42:51.679 --> 00:42:55.440 cigarette into the ashtray that looks like it hasn't been dumped out since last week? 498 00:42:57.639 --> 00:43:06.039 What movie Austin powers you know? She seems exasperated. He's now spent 499 00:43:06.119 --> 00:43:08.960 ten minutes with a woman who is caught on to the fact that he's also 500 00:43:09.039 --> 00:43:15.480 a complete moron again the story of his life. Before he can comment, 501 00:43:15.679 --> 00:43:21.400 Dakota rumbles out from behind the counter where the trucker is sitting and yells to 502 00:43:21.440 --> 00:43:25.280 Freedom to get back in the kitchen. Ryan doesn't understand why, seeing is 503 00:43:25.519 --> 00:43:29.159 that there is no work to be done, but what does he know? 504 00:43:30.159 --> 00:43:32.920 Freedom looks at him, puts two fingers up to her head in the shape 505 00:43:32.960 --> 00:43:37.960 of a gun, and metaphorically pulls the trigger with her thumb. She exit 506 00:43:38.039 --> 00:43:44.039 the booth without another word. She is busy for the next twenty minutes and 507 00:43:44.119 --> 00:43:49.840 doesn't return to Ryan's table, Busy or Dakota is keeping her away from him. 508 00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:54.039 Ryan thinks he gets to be quite the conspiracy theorist when it comes to 509 00:43:54.079 --> 00:43:59.400 her. He finishes his sandwich and tries to get her attention at the back 510 00:43:59.440 --> 00:44:02.559 of the rest, but he is unable to as she seems to be fighting 511 00:44:02.559 --> 00:44:07.599 with Dakota for a majority of that time. Frustrated, he gives up and 512 00:44:07.719 --> 00:44:12.960 leaves a twenty dollar bill on the table. He pushes open the side door 513 00:44:12.960 --> 00:44:16.079 of the restaurant and heads to the car, where he will sit and wait 514 00:44:16.199 --> 00:44:20.679 for a few hours. He will be back for dinner.